LOBAMBA – The Ministry of Public Service has come under intense scrutiny from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over approximately E4 million spent on overtime claims by officers involved in a government project.
The matter emerged during the ministry’s appearance before the PAC yesterday, where members questioned the justification for the expenditure and the circumstances under which the overtime payments were made.
The issue stems from findings contained in Auditor General Timothy Matsebula’s report for the financial year ended March 31, 2025. The report revealed that the ministry incurred unappropriated recurrent expenditure amounting to E4 490 068.47. This included E4 333 437.46 spent on personnel costs and E156 631.01 on travel, transport and communication.
According to the auditor general, the expenditure contravened Financial and Accounting Instruction 0202(ii), which places responsibility on controlling officers to ensure that spending does not exceed amounts authorised through Treasury warrants.
Matsebula further noted that Section 107(3)(j), read together with Section 34(7) of the Public Finance Management Act of 2017, classifies the incurrence of unauthorised expenditure without lawful authority as financial misconduct.
In his report, the auditor general warned that spending beyond Parliament-approved budgets was unlawful and posed significant risks to fiscal discipline. He further cautioned that failure to comply with financial laws and regulations increased the likelihood of wasteful, fruitless and irregular expenditure.
The auditor general advised the ministry’s controlling officer to explain how the overspending occurred, why authority had not been sought before exceeding the approved budget and what corrective measures would be implemented to prevent a recurrence. He also recommended the strengthening of internal controls.
In response, the controlling officer attributed the expenditure to the Secondary Education Right-Sizing Exercise, a Cabinet-directed project undertaken jointly with the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET).
According to the explanation submitted to the auditor general, overtime payments made to officers participating in the exercise were expected to be reimbursed by MoET through a journal voucher arrangement. However, the funds had not yet been transferred, forcing the Ministry of Public Service to absorb the costs from its own budget.
The controlling officer reportedly informed the auditor general that efforts were underway to recover the funds from MoET and regularise the matter. It was also indicated that future collaborative projects would be governed by formal financial agreements with clearly defined timelines to avoid similar occurrences.
During the PAC hearing, Ministry of Public Service Under Secretary Cebile Nhlabatsi attempted to justify the overtime payments, explaining that officers had been required to travel extensively to schools across different regions and, in some cases, work outside normal operating hours. However, committee members remained unconvinced.
Deputy PAC Chairperson and Nhlambeni Member of Parliament Manzi Zwane questioned the rationale behind compensating officers for starting work early, arguing that many ordinary emaSwati travelled long distances to work at their own expense without receiving similar benefits. Zwane expressed concern that the payments had contributed to the ministry exceeding its approved budget and argued that such practices risked creating an undesirable precedent across the public service.
Responding to the concerns, Nhlabatsi maintained that officers deployed to locations outside their normal duty stations were entitled to compensation in accordance with established government procedures. She explained that official assignments requiring employees to travel to other towns or work beyond standard hours were generally approved in advance through prescribed channels.
Nevertheless, she acknowledged that the ministry’s handling of the expenditure had been problematic because the budget for the joint project had been allocated to the Ministry of Education and Training, while the Ministry of Public Service ultimately carried the overtime costs.
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Under Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service Cebile Nhlabatsi responding to some of the questions posed by Members of Parliament.